Stars of ‘Footloose’ remake dance into Philadelphia for a special screening

Will Hollywood ever stop with the remakes? Every year, theatres see countless number of “reboots”, and “re-imaginings”, and they all pretty much suck. Now the new trend seems to be that the original movies don’t have to be that old. Movies haven’t even been around twenty years, and they’re getting the treatment.

That leads us to Footloose, the latest in the remake crazy, and surely one that’s gotten much attention in the wrong way. That said, Paramount seems to think they have a golden egg on their hands, as they’ve screened the film in advance countless times in an attempt to garner buzz.

Paramount was right, because Footloose is a hit. The story centers around toe happy teenagers that try to reverse a town-ban on dancing, set into effect after a horrible accident killed several high school seniors. I was at one of these screenings and can attest that the film is sweaty, sexy, good old-fashioned fun. The rowdy screening audience unanimously agreed, and lead stars Kenny Wormald and Julianne Hough attended live after the film finished to answer questions.

Both Hough and Wormald expressed appreciation for the Philly crowd, who they claimed had the best energy to date in regards to test screening audiences. Wormald also added that Miles Teller, a co-star in the film, is a born and raised Philadelphia native with much love for the city. Having seen the film, it can easily be said he steals the show, playing Wormald's best friend with two left dancing feet. By the time the finale rolls around, he’s ready to show off what he’s learned.

Another question geared towards Hough (who plays a sexed up preacher’s daughter in the film) asked if filming was harder than Dancing With The Stars. She of course replied that the two are entirely different animals but the Stars was harder because it involved dancing “seven days a week, 12 hours a day on top of fittings and press.”

However, this doesn’t mean the 50-day film shoot wasn’t grueling.

“All of those dance scenes you see at night time, we literally started with the sunlight down, and finished when the sun came up,” added Hough.

“It was grueling”, commented Wormald.

Of course a dance film with this much electric charge needs some serious heat between the stars, and it was clearly evident on film that both of young actors clicked in a big way. Director Craig Brewer staged plenty of sultry interactions, but the chemistry was there too.

When asked how long it took for the two to click, Hough stated “About 20 seconds.” Wormald explained that Julianne already had the part when he auditioned, and that there certainly a bond there, one that naturally forms from being literally attached to each other half the time.

One of the biggest moments in the film is a ferocious solo four-minute dance number, which literally explodes onto the scene in an abandoned warehouse via Wormald. On filming the exhausting experience, Wormald indicated, “it was the last three days of shooting. I think they did that strategically in case I died or broke a leg. It was a dangerous dance scene and great to finish the film with.”

On a closing note, before the two energetic stars departed, one last fan asked what iconic films they would take on if they could board the remake train again. Their answers? Pretty Woman and Top Gun respectively.

I personally hope those projects never see the light of day, but in terms of Footloose, all parties involved have created a fine piece of entertainment.